Autonomic performance tuning of a distributed virtual storage server

Abstract

A dynamic selection of a communications link between a storage controller and one of a plurality of storage servers is provided so as to enhance the performance of the storage system. The storage system includes a plurality of storage devices, a corresponding plurality of virtual storage controllers coupled to the storage devices and a virtual storage controller. The virtual storage controller includes a host interface, a server interface, a stored table and a processing unit. The stored table includes a list identifying the active links between the server interface and each virtual storage server and, for each active link, a corresponding performance value. The processing unit is programmed to receive from a host a request for a storage operation on selected data, determine which active link has the most favorable performance value and direct that the requested storage operation be performed by the virtual storage server coupled to the virtual storage controller over the active link having the most favorable performance value.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates generally to the field of computer data storage systems and, in particular, to the dynamic selection of a communications link between a storage controller and one of a plurality of storage servers so as to enhance the performance of the storage system.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Early computer data storage systems included one host device, one storage device (such as a hard disk drive, tape drive or an optical drive) and a storage controller to manage the transfer of data between the host and the storage device. The use of a single storage device eventually evolved into consolidating several storage devices (such as tape drives) into an automated library and many (sometimes hundreds or even thousands) of pieces of media (such as tape cartridges) retrievable by mechanical means for loading into one of the storage devices. More recent innovations permit more than one storage library to be attached to a host (or to more than one host) through ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]In one embodiment, the performance values are determined by the distance of an link between the server interface and a virtual storage server and the type of link. For example, faster links (such as FICON) are assigned more favorable weighting than slower links (s

Problems solved by technology

Finally, during normal operations a closer VTS may have accumulated a backlog of host job requests and consequently that VTS may take longer to fulfill new requests than one which is farther from the VTC but has less of a backlog, regardless of the state of the cache.

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